Vieux Chateau Certan 2011

vinous93

Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata

Good bright red-ruby. Expressive aromas of raspberry, cocoa, minerals and violet; very cabernet franc! Juicy, sappy and intense, with sharply delineated if still youthfully imploded flavors of floral red berries and minerals. Offers truly superb intensity and clarity, with harmonious lively acids giving the sweetly spicy red fruit flavors noteworthy penetration and cut. Highly perfumed on the long, pure finish which features lingering violet notes. This was my favorite wine of the Primeurs back in 2012 and subsequent retastings of the wine since then haven't changed my mind.

vinous95

Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata

(70% merlot, 29% cabernet franc and 1% cabernet sauvignon, 3.6 pH, 3.5 g/l total acidity; 83 IPT; 37 h/h; 13.6% alcohol): Purple-ruby. Perfumed, cabernet franc-dominated aromas of strawberry, violet and bitter cocoa. Very refined on the palate, with vibrant acidity framing and lifting the very pure red fruit and mineral flavors. This beautiful Pomerol will develop slowly and gracefully. Alexandre Thienpont believes that the cabernet franc, which seemed to suffer from the heat of 200 and 2010, has given a cashmere feel to what he thinks is a classic wine that will age well. I couldn't agree more, as this is probably my wine of the vintage.

vinous93

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2011 Vieux-Château-Certan comes across somewhat bretty on the nose, occluding the delineation and complexity (certainly apparent juxtaposed blind against its peers.) The palate is medium-bodied with supple but quite firm tannins that frame the concentrated red fruit laced with black pepper, clove and graphite. It fans out wonderfully on the finish with a long peppery aftertaste. Thankfully, returning after a few minutes, that brett seems to have ebbed away, hence my score. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.

robert_parker91

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2011 Vieux Chateau Certan offers a beautiful bouquet of plums, black cherries, cassis and hints of graphite as well as spice, an excellent texture and medium body. A success in this difficult vintage, it should age easily for 10-15 years. Yet after the trilogy of great wines in 2008, 2009 and 2010, few consumers are likely to pay much attention to this 2011.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The Vieux Chateau Certan was cropped between 6th and 7th of September and from 14th until 20th September. That's what you'll read everywhere, although I was filming Alexandre when he was picking the final Cabernet around the 29th September! Cropped at 37hl/ha, it is a blend of 70% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon and (yay!) 29% Cabernet Franc. It delivers 13.6 degrees alcohol with a total acidity of 3.5gms/L and an IPT of 83. After the Cabernet Francless 2009 and 2010, this is more what I consider to be a classic VCC nose and as Alexandre, unlike those previous vintages that gives you everything up front, this is far more intellectual and enigmatic with hints of mineral laden fruit, limestone and small dark cherries. It is beautifully defined yet distant. The palate is succinctly balanced with crisp acidity, exceptional balance and superb backbone. There is an undercurrent of masculinity, a saline tincture, crushed stone and a touch of dried herbs and yet these are just fleeting hints. It has enormous length and it is one of the very few that could be on the same ethereal plateau as the 2009 and 2010 and perhaps one day...even better. Tasted April 2012.

robert_parker96

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Made in a big, bold style with 13.6% natural alcohol, it reveals a stunning perfume of graphite, mulberries, black currants, kirsch, licorice and forest floor. This full-bodied, dense Pomerol transcends the overall vintage character. Thienpont compared the style of the 2011 with their 2000, but with more density to its core because of the extremely low yields. Only 60% of the crop made it into this cuvee. It will need 5-8 years of cellaring, and should still be intact and drinking beautifully at age 30. A candidate for the top wine of Pomerol, Alexandre Thienpont calls the 2011 a return to the more classic style of Vieux Chateau Certan after the exotic, over-the-top 2009 and 2010. A blend of 70% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc (the highest in a number of years) and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2011 was harvested between September 7-20.

robert_parker96

Reviewed by: William Kelley

One of the stars of the vintage, the 2011 Vieux Château Certan was brilliant from barrel (I vividly remember tasting it as a student), and it is beginning to show all of that potential in bottle. Wafting from the glass with inviting aromas of mulberries, cherries, vine smoke, bitter chocolate, violets and spices, framed by a deft application of classy new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, velvety and layered, with terrific concentration, powdery tannins and a long, sapid finish. Even better, this terrific wine remains notably undervalued in the market today.

vinous93

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2011 Vieux-Château-Certan comes across somewhat bretty on the nose, occluding the delineation and complexity (certainly apparent juxtaposed blind against its peers.) The palate is medium-bodied with supple but quite firm tannins that frame the concentrated red fruit laced with black pepper, clove and graphite. It fans out wonderfully on the finish with a long peppery aftertaste. Thankfully, returning after a few minutes, that brett seems to have ebbed away, hence my score. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.